Stay Where I Can See You
by Tropical Medlies
Summary: "You either take the job and go to Boston or you stay here and screw up your career because of me. I'm not going to let you do that."
1. Chapter 1

"I'm done talking about this!"

"But I'm not!" Tori called halfheartedly, watching as her girlfriend of just under a year walked away from her. With a groan, she slumped down against the lockers and dropped her backpack, not even looking up when she heard footsteps.

"How goes it, baby girl?" Andre asked, sounding a bit sympathetic. He took a spot on the floor next to Tori, one leg stretched out in front of him and his arm propped on the other.

"Jade's mad at me. Again," Tori bit out, looking over at her best friend. He nodded for her to go on, digging through his bag. "It's about that film shoot again."

A month ago Tori had auditioned for a short film that was about two young teenagers falling in love a week before they left for colleges on the opposite sides of the country. She had gone in to read for the role of the best friend, but much to her surprise she had landed the lead, and, even more surprising, the film had been given a bigger budget and therefore a longer running time.

The downside? They were filming on location in Boston, Massachusetts, just after graduation in May. Neither Jade nor Tori were pursuing higher education, instead throwing themselves wholeheartedly into their work and not wasting any time, but Jade was staying in Hollywood, where she had already been put in contact with some people interested in a few of her scripts.

The argument that kept coming up over and over again between the two of them was that Tori didn't exactly want to take the role and be away from Jade and her home for so long. Filming was estimated to take about six months, and that didn't include the rewrites and reshooting that would probably take place if the director managed to get his big box office opening that he was lusting after.

Jade was furious that Tori would ever think of giving up such an opportunity to stick around for her, and Tori couldn't imagine being so far from her girlfriend for so long, even if she was sarcastic and tough to deal with on her best days. Hence their near-daily fighting for the past few weeks.

"Ah, that. Tor, I know it's not really my place, but you really should think about that more carefully," Andre said, finally pulling a notebook out of his bag.

Tori threw up her hands, frustrated. "I know I should! But I haven't signed a contract or anything yet, and they can still recast Olivia, but I feel like I'm stuck. If I go and I do it, I'll be miserable being away from home and you guys and Jade, but if I don't take it and I stay here Jade will be pissed and I'll always wonder what-if. And, you know, I'm scared that so much time away will ruin our relationship." She glanced down at her hands, twisting a few of her rings around, waiting for Andre's reaction.

He was scribbling in his notebook, easily multi-tasking. It was one of his many talents. "Tori, you love Jade, right?" Her response was instant. "And Jade loves you?" Again, instantaneous. "Then it would work. I mean, yeah, the distance might be rough, but that's why they have phones and Skype and stuff. And Jade could visit. Who knows, filming could be shorter than you think, and getting out of your box could really help you."

Tori gazed at Andre for a few minutes until he looked up from his paper, feeling uncomfortable. "What? Do I got something on my face?"

"No. You're just kind of awesome," she said, leaning over to hug him around the neck.

x x x

Tori carefully walked up to Jade's locker, hoping that the dark haired girl had cooled down a little from their argument earlier. It was as though Jade could sense her coming because she slowly closed her locker door and placed a hand on her hip before cocking an eyebrow at Tori. "Vega."

Tori gulped. "Jade."

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Jade, stop it. You know we need to talk about this. Seriously. We need to sit down and be serious and - "

"Tori! There's no talking about it. You either take the job and go to Boston or you stay here and screw up your career because of me. I'm not going to let you do that." Jade's tone was sharp, leaving no room for argument, but Tori always found a way.

"Don't tell me what to do! Jade, look, I don't know if this is even what I want, okay? Jade - Jade, where are you going?"

"We're not doing this in the hallway," her girlfriend shot over her shoulder, marching out to the parking lot.

All throughout the car ride to Jade's, Tori could feel the anger radiating off of her girlfriend. She could see why Jade would be angry but at the same time it wasn't as though she was personally harming Jade with this decision. Still, Jade had a tendency to react to things with an unusual amount of emotion and this wasn't an exception.

When they reached the mansion that Jade called home (her parents were inattentive but loaded) she parked the car and got out without a second look at Tori. It wasn't until they were in Jade's room and Tori had set her things down that Jade did so much as glance in Tori's direction.

And that's when Tori saw it.

Nervousness. Fear. Guilt.

Everything clicked into place and she sat down on Jade's bed, letting out a breath. When she looked back up to see if she had truly witnessed that or if she was having some sort of hallucination, Jade was digging through her drawers to find her favorite scissors.

"Jade?"

"Vega."

"You want me to go to Boston because you love me, right?"

"I like you."

"Jade."

"Yes, I want you to go to Boston because I love you. Also because it's a great career move and you can't pass up an opportunity like this, Tori." Having found her scissors, Jade held them up triumphantly, found a sheet of black construction paper, and reclined on the bed next to Tori, making quick work of the paper as they spoke. Tori simply watched her, eyes roaming Jade's face - every detail from her eyebrows to the intense blue of her eyes to the bow of her lips fascinated Tori - and she finally hesitantly reached out and curled one of Jade's green extensions around her forefinger. Jade stopped her cutting but didn't look up.

"You don't want me to not go because you're worried if I stay then I'll hate you for it later." Not a question but a statement.

Jade's face remained completely neutral. "That's stupid, Vega. I don't even know where you come up with crap like that. Can we make out?" She tossed the scissors aside and sat up, raising her studded eyebrow upward. It was hard to say no to Jade when she said things like that because it seemed like her face and voice were permanently set on seduction and it wasn't long before Tori was pinned under Jade and had no idea what they had been talking about.

The next day she officially signed the contract to play one Olivia Caldwell in _East Coast, West Coast, _ with shooting to start on June 1, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts.


	2. Chapter 2

Being in Boston wasn't what Tori imagined. It was a beautiful city, of course, when she could get off the set long enough to explore it (she had gone to the Museum of Fine Arts, Fenway Park, the Public Gardens, and the aquarium so far) but other than that she felt no attachment to the city. Her costars seemed nice enough: her character's love interest was a boy named Oliver who was a few years older than Tori herself, and he was having the same relationship troubles she was. The two of them actually bonded in between takes over how much they missed their girlfriends. The actors and actresses that played the other characters were friendly enough as well, and all of them went out on the town whenever they could. Tori tried to keep up with them, but it was hard when all she wanted to do was stay in her hotel and Skype with Jade.

Jade, meanwhile, seemed to be doing just fine without Tori around. Whenever she called the gothic girl, she would be working on a script or out with Beck or Cat or doing something that was keeping her occupied. It made her wonder if Tori was being too clingy or if she wasn't enjoying the time away enough.

When the two of them Skyped for the first time, Tori set up in her giant hotel room bed and Jade in her usual corner in her room, Tori couldn't help but beam widely when Jade's face filled the screen. "Baby!"

Jade made a face. "Baby?"

Tori hugged a pillow to her chest and nodded. "Baby. I'm so excited to see you! I mean, I know it's only been two weeks, but still. I missed seeing you. Phone calls aren't exactly the same. Neither is texting. Which, speaking of, thank you for that extremely embarrassing text that I got right before my scene today." She glared at Jade, who simply laughed.

"You know you enjoyed it. I can send more, if you like? My mother felt guilty about not being around recently or something and so she gave me her credit card and I felt a lingerie run was appropriate. After all, I have to keep you interested from three thousand miles away." Her tone was softer now, eyes a bit downcast. She brought a hand up to her mouth and bit her thumbnail, clearly not liking having to be this open about her feelings.

Tori, on the other hand, was loving it. Even though they had been dating for months now she still rarely got to see this side of Jade. "Oh, Jade, you know I'll still be interested even if you send me pictures of yourself in a Snuggie." Jade shuddered at the thought and opened her mouth to say something but Tori cut her off. "So, today, we were on set and one of the assistants who's brand new didn't realize who I was and started flirting with me."

It was almost comical to see how jealous Jade could get in seconds. Her thick eyebrows met, her teeth bared, and her eyes turned an incredible shade of dark blue. "I'll fly out there tonight and kick his ass if I have to, Tori."

"Aw, you called me Tori!"

"Shut up. Tell me you told him to go fu - "

"I _kindly _told him that I had a girlfriend that I loved very much and he apologized and left."

Jade relaxed, although she still looked a bit suspicious, and Tori gave her the cheeriest smile she could muster. That in turn put a smile on Jade's face and she turned away from the camera a bit, still embarrassed that Tori could do this to her.

"I love you, you big scary monster."

"I love you too, you dork."

x x x

As Tori entered month four of shooting she really had to wonder how she hadn't shot herself yet. It was the beginning of September and all of the college students were descending upon Boston, which made filming twice as hard and the days twice as long. Jade had been asked to help out with some script writing classes at a local college - her talent had finally been noticed and taken advantage of, thank God - and so they had been talking and Skyping less. According to the director they were going to be there for another couple of months at the least, and all Tori really wanted was to go home. Oliver wanted the same.

He dropped down next to her during lunch one day when Tori was picking at a salad near the buffet tables set out for the cast and crew. "Hey, Tor."

"What's up, Oliver?"

"Not a whole lot. I just tried to call Jenna, but I think she's in class. It sucks being three hours ahead of them. I still can't get used to it." He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair and then stole a cherry tomato from Tori's salad. Laughing, she pointed her fork at him.

"Watch it, mister!"

"You never eat them anyway," he said, mouth full. "How are things with Jade, Mistress of the Night?" He always joked about how gothic Tori's girlfriend was, but she knew that he didn't mean anything by it.

Tori frowned a bit and went back to poking at her salad. "Good. I mean, we haven't been talking much, but she's been working a lot and I've been working a lot, and you know what I mean. You've been dealing with the same thing with Jenna."

Oliver frowned, too. "Yeah, but Jenna and I take at least half an hour out every night to talk. Do you and Jade do that?"

Tori took a moment to think about that. She wasn't sure if they even talked every day anymore. They might send a text message here and there, but sometimes that was all. In fact, the only thing she got from Jade that day was "Working late, might call you around 11 your time," and that was just a might. "Um, no?"

Oliver shook his head and stole another tomato, popping it in his mouth before standing up. "Not my place to say anything. But eat quick, we gotta get back to shooting soon."

Tori watched him leave and then dumped her salad out, not feeling very hungry anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

"Um, Miss West? I was wondering if I could ask you a question about the latest assignment?"

Jade's green eyes cut from her intended destination - her car in the parking lot, which one Beck Oliver happened to be leaning up against - and toward a somewhat frightened looking student. "Yeah?"

After listening to the student blather on for a few minutes - she didn't even know the kid's name and just kept calling him "you" - she finally managed to wrestle herself away and continued across the parking lot.

"Beck," she said, tone not unfriendly but not exactly welcoming either. Her boots made a thunking noise with each step she took, and she yanked her rear car door open to throw her bag into the backseat.

"Jadelyn," he acknowledged with an easy smile, not moving from his spot against her car. She closed the door and stepped back, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you going to move away from my car or am I going to have to forcibly remove you?"

Beck chuckled, still immune to her threats. The two of them had dated for quite a long time and they were on good terms - when Jade felt like it, anyway. That was why he had been the one elected to break her out of the funk she had been in lately concerning Tori. He moved away from the car, heading around to the other side and climbing into the passenger's side. Jade stared at him for a long moment before sighing and getting in, muttering under her breath darkly.

"So, I hear Tori's going to be in Boston for another couple of months."

Jade's expression darkened as she twisted the key in the ignition of the 1966 black Thunderbird that her father had purchased her as a sixteenth birthday present (one of her "get out of guilt free" presents, she liked to call them). "Yeah. So?"

Beck mussed his hair up in the back a little before flipping down the mirror. "So she's been gone for five months now. You must have something to say about it."

"I have a lot of things to say about it, Oliver, but none that you'd like to hear," Jade said through gritted teeth, not even bothering to signal as she pulled out of the parking lot.

With a sigh, he flicked the mirror back up and buckled his seatbelt. "I'm just saying, she's going to be gone for a little longer. It's gotta be rough. Have you two even been talking that much?" Beck had his suspicions that they hadn't been communicating as much and recent talks with Cat only supported that, but only Jade could confirm it.

Jade was a talented actress and liar, but Beck was one of the very, very few people she couldn't fake something around. In fact, the only other person was Tori. "We still talk, if that's what you're asking."

"How often?"

"We talk on the phone every other day or so. And we Skype sometimes." Jade flicked her gaze over to him and, apparently feeling comfortable, kept talking.

Beck sighed, pushing his hair off his forehead. It was definitely worse than he had thought it was.

x x x

"So, look, guys, I talked to Jade earlier, and it sounds like things with her and Tori aren't going so great," Beck said, sipping at his soda.

"Why not, man?" Andre asked, leaning forward on the table.

The four of them (five if you counted Rex) were seated at Nozu, discussing their best friends' relationship and how much they missed Tori in general, but most importantly they were trying to make sure that the two of them stayed together.

"I don't want them to break up," Cat sighed, a pout on her lips. Robbie shook his head, a doubtful look on his face.

"I don't think they will, Cat! Right, guys?" He glanced at Beck and Andre, who busied themselves looking at other things, not wanting to get dragged into false promises.

Rex, however, didn't mind being vocal. "Ha! You don't know what they got going on, fool."

"Look, all I'm saying is that it seems like they just haven't been communicating all that much. Maybe we should, you know, give them a helping hand."

Andre narrowed his eyes in thought and leaned away from the table, pointing at Beck. "I think I know where you're going with this, man, and I like it."

Cat looked from boy to boy until suddenly a smile lit up her face and she clapped her hands. "Ooh, yay! This will be fun!"

Robbie frowned. "Am I the only one who's confused again?"

x x x

At what was considered to be an ungodly hour by anyone's standards there was a knock on Jade West's bedroom door. At first she ignored it, figuring that it was her mother and that she would get tired of trying out this whole parenting thing and leave, but it became persistent and she had to get up.

Flinging it open, she shouted "What?" and then stared at her four friends (and one puppet), all of whom were up and dressed at four in the morning.

"What the chiz are you guys doing here?" she said, tangling a hand in her hair and blinking blearily.

"Well, Miss West, we're here to help you get ready, of course!" Robbie said cheerfully, wiggling Rex around for emphasis. Cat squeaked next to him and nodded, looking excited. Andre chuckled and shifted his backpack on his shoulders, and Beck just looked unbearably smug.

"Get ready for what?"

"Let's just pack up some things and then we'll tell you where we're going, huh?" Beck said, pushing past Jade and entering her room. The others followed suit and it didn't take long for Beck to find her luggage. "Cat, find some clothes?"

"Kay kay!" the redhead said, already sorting through Jade's closet. Jade could only stand there, stunned, at the total invasion of privacy and balls of steel that her friends were demonstrating right now. Andre clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Better take a shower and get dressed, girl, 'cause we got a long day ahead of us."

Jade jerked her shoulder away from him and glared before leaving the room, wondering why she was actually going along with this insanity. It must have been because Tori had been gone for so long; she was clearly going out of her mind.

x x x

When the airport limousine pulled up to LAX, Jade tried to stamp down the excited feeling that had been fluttering in her chest ever since they had left her house earlier that morning. There was no way that her friends had done what she thought they had, because there were just too many variables, like money and time and hotels and all kinds of things that she didn't even want to think about.

The five of them stood on the side of the road in front of the airport as their luggage was unloaded, and once they got it all done Cat raced in front of them with her bright pink Hello Kitty bag, Robbie right behind her. Andre already had his headphones on and was muttering lyrics under his breath, and Beck was about to enter through the sliding doors when Jade grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him back roughly.

She stared up at him, her eyes searching his, and swallowed. "You didn't."

Beck grinned at her and reached into his jacket, pulling out an envelope and handing it to Jade. With slightly shaking fingers she opened it, glanced inside, and then threw her arms around Beck in the tightest hug that she could.

She wouldn't admit it under the severest of torture, but she maybe even cried a little bit, too, when she saw "BOSTON" stamped on the plane ticket.


	4. Chapter 4

Jade tapped her fingers against the plastic of the armrest, her gaze trained outside the small plane window and the clouds passing below. Her initial shock at being surprised with the tickets to Boston had worn off, and now, in true Jade form, she could only think of things that could go wrong now. What if she got there and Tori, not expecting her, didn't exactly want her to stay? What if things between the two of them were strange; what if they didn't click like they used to? It had been a long time since they had seen one another in person and the distance could do things to a relationship. All of it had seemed like easy stuff to handle when Tori had been on one side of the country and Jade on the other, but now they were so close to being together again and the reality of what problems could arise were setting in.

Cat's sudden voice caused Jade to bite down on the thumbnail that she had been absentmindedly chewing on as she thought, and she swore, spitting it out. "Hi, Jade!"

The redhead had been seated three rows behind Jade with Robbie, and Andre and Beck had been across the aisle from them. Jade was the only one with her own seat and she was just fine with that. She preferred it, even. But now it seemed like all three guys had fallen asleep and Cat needed someone to entertain her. "Hi, Cat."

Cat dropped into the empty seat next to Jade – her seatmate had never showed up, thank God – and cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong?" Say what you might about Cat (and people said a lot of things, most of which earned them punches in the face straight from Jade, because if it wasn't from her or one of their friends in the group, she wasn't going to tolerate it) but the girl was perceptive as hell. Jade rubbed at the bridge of her nose, weighing her options right then. She could lie and put on a bitch face like she always did, or she could actually say something to someone about something for once and see if it got her anywhere.

"I'm fine."

There was a quizzical look from the redhead, as if she hadn't been expecting that response, and Jade almost rolled her eyes, because really? How was Cat not expecting that after all these years of knowing Jade? Regardless, she shifted back in her seat so that her head was touching the headrest. "I'm sure Tori will be super excited to see you, Jadey."

"Don't call me that," Jade said through gritted teeth, hating the way Cat always seemed to know what was on her mind. "Go back to your seat."

"I don't know why you're so worried. She misses you a lot, you know. She always talks about you. It's the best kind of romantic."

Jade closed her eyes, counted in her head to three, and then opened them again. "Cat – "

"I know. I'm going!" With that, she stood up and flounced back to her seat, purposely landing in Robbie's lap so that he'd wake up and she would have someone else to entertain her for a while. Jade was left alone with her thoughts once more as the captain's voice came on the loudspeaker and announced that they had another half an hour before they landed at Logan International Airport.

x x x

When everyone got off the plane and managed to grab all of their things (Robbie's luggage was the only one lost, much to everyone else's relief), it was time to get to the Hotel Commonwealth, the hotel that Tori and her cast had been staying in for the past few months. Apparently the director of the movie had worked out a deal with the hotel that involved putting up the actors in return for filming on location and doing a lot of promoting of the hotel when the time for the movie's release came. Whatever, Jade didn't really care for the logistics of it all.

Andre and Beck helped the cab driver load their things into the back of the van and Jade took the front seat, cutting a sharp look at Robbie when he dared to protest. He and Cat took the farthest row and then Andre and Beck sat in the middle, and everyone else oohed and ahhed over the sights while Jade gnawed on her thumbnail again and worried about seeing Tori.

Her stomach was in knots, and it hadn't done that in ages, not since she and Tori had started to date. Jade simply didn't get nervous, not when it came time for an audition or when she sang in public, or when she met new people. Tori, however, was always the one to break the rules when it came to Jade and this was no different. She bit her lip and rested her forehead against the cool glass, hoping that Cat would be right about all of this being a good idea. She couldn't imagine Tori not being thrilled to see her, but at the same time…

The van jerked to a stop, the fifteen minutes it took to get to the hotel from the airport seeming like two minutes. Everyone else piled out, chattering animatedly between one another, and Jade climbed out woodenly, crossing her arms over her chest and staring up at the building. Somewhere inside there was her girlfriend, who she hadn't seen in months, and who had no idea she was in the same time zone as her right now, let alone the same state or the same city or on the same street.

She was pretty sure she was going to throw up, and Jade West did not throw up.

x x x

"She's shooting a scene right now but she should be taking her lunch break in a few minutes, guys," Andre said, his eyes skipping down the text message he had just received on his pearPhone. They had just checked into the hotel and were trying to figure out where Tori was, hoping to surprise her with their arrival as soon as possible.

Cat and Robbie were rummaging through the mini bar already, Robbie finding a bag of cookies and tearing into them delightedly. Cat waited until he was looking out the window and carefully plucked them from his fingers, giggling madly and racing to lock herself in the bathroom. "Cat! Cat, dammit! What are you doing? Come on!" he whined, banging on the door. Jade could hear her giggles through the door and groaned, flinging her arm over her face. She was laying on her back on one of the two double beds in the room – there were two cots at the foot of the beds, too; everyone figured that Jade would be staying in Tori's room and that there wouldn't be need for a third cot – and trying to push down the butterflies that were trying to bite their way out of her stomach. They might have been vampire bats.

Suddenly Andre's phone began to vibrate incessantly and he picked it up, pressing a button. "You've got Andre," he said smoothly, turning around to mouth "It's Tori!" at Beck and Jade. He then pressed speakerphone and put his finger to his lips, motioning at Robbie, who immediately stopped.

"Hey, Andre!" Jade's stomach flipped unpleasantly at the sound of her girlfriend's voice and she sat up. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, chica. On your lunch break?"

"Yep. We're just going across the street to grab some Thai."

Beck stood and crossed the room to look out the window, scanning the street until finally a sign caught his eye and he motioned for Jade to stand. She did and joined him at the window, where he pointed. That had to be the place Tori was talking about, unless there was another place around there. She turned and mouthed to Andre, "What Thai place?"

"Oh, uh, that's cool. What's it called?"

Tori sounded puzzled. "Thai Dish II. Nothing special. So, what are you up to?"

"Nothing much. Look, Tori, I gotta go, my grandma is stuck in the toilet again."

"Your grandma is – "

Andre hung up the phone and grinned at Beck and Jade. Robbie and Cat joined them, Cat having exited the bathroom. "Well? Let's go."

x x x

The closer that they got to the Thai restaurant the more prominent the vampire bats in Jade's stomach became. It got so bad that she actually leaned over and took Beck's hand at one point. He didn't even question it, just squeezing it once before letting go and putting his arm around her shoulders. The walk was incredibly short and before they knew it they were standing in front of the place. Cat glanced in before anyone else did and squealed. "I see Tori! She's in there with a bunch of other people and this cute blonde guy has his arm around her!"

That got Jade's attention. "What?"

Cat stopped bouncing and shook her head. "Oh, uh, I was kidding!" For an actress, Cat was a terrible liar. Jade rolled her eyes, realizing that it was probably Oliver, Tori's costar that she blathered on about constantly, and tried to squash down her jealousy so she wouldn't somehow ruin the surprise before it even happened.

Andre opened the door and all five of them filed into the restaurant, at first shielded by what Jade assumed was a large part of the cast and crew of _East Coast, West Coast_. Beck sidled right on up to where Tori was standing by the front of the restaurant, waiting for her order, and leaned against the wall. "So, come here often?"

Tori turned to look at him, shock registering all over her face. Before she could get a single word out, Andre showed up on the other side of her, grinning. "Damn, girl, you coulda told us you were getting some Thai! I'm hungry as hell!" Tori pointed at him, then at Beck, then back at Andre, her mouth open but no noise coming out. Cat skipped between a group of burly looking men, holding tightly onto Robbie's hand, which meant that the lanky teenager banged into the men and had to apologize profusely as he was tugged along.

"Tori! I don't have anything funny to say, but you look pretty!" she giggled, leaning up to give Tori a tight hug. Robbie waved to Tori over Cat's shoulder, and Jade couldn't hear what Tori finally did say due to the noise in the restaurant. In fact, she raised her eyes until she found Beck and she pointed to outside the restaurant, then to her phone, before exiting the Thai place.

She shot him a quick text, telling him to bring Tori outside when she got her food and that Jade would be waiting there, but not to tell her that Jade was there. If Tori asked, tell her that Jade really wanted to come but something came up and she had to stay behind because of schoolwork. The five of them exited a few minutes later, Tori talking excitedly to all of them. Jade was leaning against the brick wall with her arms crossed and one boot against the wall, dressed in what she knew was Tori's favorite outfit on her: her green top with her black skirt and tights and combat boots, complete with her heavy silver rings and necklaces (including the heart one that Tori had gotten her on their anniversary and that Jade would have never worn for anyone else), and the eyebrow ring and stud in her nose that she had switched out for a silver hoop that Tori always said with a sigh were totally hot on Jade but not on anyone else.

"You didn't think I'd miss the party, did you?"

Tori's back was to her so when Jade's distinctive voice rang out into the air she froze before turning slowly around. Jade's gaze slid from her nails to Tori's eyes and she cocked her studded eyebrow up, a smirk on her lips, before pushing off of the wall and standing up straight. Her hand went to her hip and she gestured to Tori. "Well? Aren't you going to –" She sighed. "- hug me?"

The scream that Tori let out made Andre and Robbie flinch away from her in terror, and Beck only just barely caught the take away container that Tori threw into the air as she ran towards Jade. Jade waited until the last second to hold her arms out and catch Tori, hating this sappy love stuff, but loving the way that Tori's laugh sounded in her ear as she clung to Jade. She melted a little at the way that Tori would only hold her tighter whenever she made the tiniest movement away, and when she heard Robbie say something about how cute they were together she flipped him off behind Tori's back, grinning (grinning – that was what Tori freakin' Vega did to her) when Tori whispered, "Don't flip them off."

Tori finally pulled away, but not very far, and rested her hands on Jade's shoulders for a brief moment before cupping her face. Her eyes roamed all over Jade's face as if memorizing any new details that had arisen in the last few months and then she tenderly brushed a lock of Jade's dark hair out of her eyes. "Hi," she said quietly, and Tori smiled.

"Hi," she said back, before closing the gap and kissing Jade so hard that Jade was pretty sure she saw stars go off behind her eyes. Tori wasn't even ashamed to admit that this time it was her who flipped off Robbie when he said something behind them and just deepened her kiss with Jade.


	5. Chapter 5

After some cajoling and several reminders that Tori had picked up her entire life and moved across the country because he had begged her to be the star in his movie, Tori's director finally let her have the rest of the day off to entertain her girlfriend and her friends. Reese McCarthy had a reputation as being one of the best, most easygoing, yet hardworking directors in all of Hollywood, so he could understand why Tori needed a break. It had been five months since she had last seen anyone from her life back home and for an eighteen year old that was hard. Giving her an afternoon off wasn't going to kill anyone, and they would just have to shift filming back one day and take up one of the extra days he had allotted for in the next week.

After Reese let Tori leave his makeshift office (really his hotel room with a bunch of his important papers and equipment scattered around) he was surprised to hear another knock on his door. When he swung it open he found Oliver, his other star in the movie, standing there and looking troubled.

Reese sighed. He could already tell where this was going to go.

x x x

"Oh, Robbie, look! Look at that puppy!" Cat gushed, tugging Robbie over to a middle aged woman and her Labrador puppy. The woman smiled at the two of them and Cat crouched down, laughing as it licked her face. Robbie awkwardly smiled back and stuck his hands in his pockets, trying hard not to stare at Cat.

"Are they dating yet?" Tori asked, nudging Jade's shoulder with her own before nodding with her head towards their two friends. Jade shrugged, shifting her purse on her shoulder. She hadn't given much thought as to what Cat and Robbie were. They were just Cat and Robbie most of the time. Everyone knew that he had a crush on her, but Jade had never thought about whether or not it was mutual. She glanced over at them, narrowing her darkly lined eyes in thought.

Tori slowed her walking and waited for Jade to realize she had stopped completely. The six of them had decided to take a walk through the Boston Public Gardens, and they had all managed to split up in twos. Beck and Andre were flirting with "some cute Boston honeys," Cat and Robbie were playing with nearly every single dog they saw, and now Tori was waiting with her arms crossed, a smile on her lips as she saw Jade suddenly realize that she wasn't there anymore and turn, nervous. It took her a second to find her girlfriend, but once she did her eyes narrowed and she stalked back to Tori. "Funny," she commented drily.

"I thought so." Tori grinned cheekily, and then reached down to take Jade's hand. "But really, though. You've never thought about them? Like, them getting together? Because I'm pretty sure everyone else has. Look at them."

Jade did what she was told. Cat had gotten bored of the Labrador puppy and now the two of them were at a shaved ice stand. Robbie paid for two shaved ices and when Cat took hers she glanced at the ground and giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

It all clicked in instant. "Oh."

"Is this another one of those things where everyone knew before you did, sweetie?" Tori looked sympathetic, and Jade scowled at her.

"For the last time, I was not the last person to know I liked you! And don't call me sweetie."

Tori shook her head and stepped closer, dropping Jade's hand and wrapping her arms around her neck instead. "Shh. Don't ruin it yet. You've been so good so far."

Jade brought her own arms up slowly, encircling Tori's waist and trying to breathe in the scent of Tori's shampoo without Tori realizing she was doing it. "But if I wasn't giving you a hard time it wouldn't be nearly as fun."

"I can see you doing that, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about." With a completely straight face Jade slipped her hands into Tori's back pockets, smirking when she yelped and leapt nearly a foot in the air in response.

"Jade! We're – we're in public!" Tori was met with a blank stare. "We can't do that right now!" Another blank stare. "Jade!"

"Vega, I wasn't exactly asking you to rip off all of your clothes and – "

"Okay!" Tori said, chuckling nervously and cutting Jade off as a passing family threw a look their way. The last ting she needed was people recognizing her months later when the movie came out and calling her the trashy actress who went around talking about having sex in public places. "Why don't we go and see what everyone else is doing, yeah?" She moved to find the others, but Jade caught her arm, pulling her back so that she could whisper in her ear.

"Fine, but you bet your ass you're making it up to me tonight. That hotel room of yours is getting put to use." Jade pulled back, patted Tori's cheek, resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the dumbstruck look on her face, and walked off. Tori was only spurred into action when she suddenly heard a loud "What the chiz?" coming from the direction Jade had gone off into and a sudden loud, angry man's voice followed by someone crying.

x x x

"I can't believe we weren't even here for four hours and Jade already made someone cry," Robbie commented as they rode in the elevator up to their hotel rooms. Tori shuffled her feet, glaring hard at her girlfriend. Jade steadfastly looked away from her, arms crossed over her chest and her lips set in a firm line. It wasn't her fault that the guy had bumped into her and had refused to apologize and then called her a bitch. He deserved being kicked in the balls. Tori, on the other hand, disagreed.

"Yeah, well, maybe Jade should stay with you guys if she wants to make someone cry," Tori spat out, crumpling the water bottle she held in her hand until Beck slowly reached over and took it away from her. That got a reaction from Jade, and her head whipped around, surprise and hurt written on her face. The elevator dinged on the eleventh floor and the others looked at each other and then raced out.

"Well, gotta go!"

"I think I'll take a nap, I'm super tired."

"I'm going to take a bath!"

"I have to pee!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

"See ya!"

"Later!"

Tori and Jade stared at each other as the doors slid closed, and Jade dropped her arms once they were shut and the elevator began to ascend. "Tori, I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd get so mad at me." Tori raised her eyebrow. "That's a lie. I knew you'd get mad, but I didn't know you'd get this mad. Are you really going to make me stay with – with _them_?"

Tori pursed her lips in thought, scanning Jade from head to toe. Finally she shook her head and Jade smiled, one of her real, full on, teeth-baring smiles, but Tori stopped her by holding up a finger. "But it's only because you look so good today and because I've been really, really lonely for the last few months." The elevator opened again and she took Jade's hand, twining their fingers together and pulling her down the hall to her room. As she got out her key to the room, she flashed a smirk at Jade. "And those pictures you've been sending? They just haven't been cutting it lately. I need the real Jade West for a change."

It only took one look from Jade – one little look that consisted of Jade biting her lower lip and in which her eyes suddenly looked three times darker than they normally were – and Tori couldn't remember how to work the door. Jade leaned over, purposely brushing her breasts against Tori's arm, and took the key from her. "Let me do that," she said, her voice husky.

It paid to have a girlfriend who seemed to be permanently stuck in sex mode, Tori thought, as she raced to primp herself in the bathroom. It was something ridiculous that she almost always did unless they were being really spur of the moment, but it made her feel a little more ready, a little more sexy for Jade. She checked her hair and make up – she didn't have time to reapply, just touch-up – and then exited the bathroom. "Jade? I'm - "

The words died on her lips as she took in the sight of Jade in matching black (was there any other color for her?) lace lingerie, lying across her bed. Someone had definitely been preparing for this, Tori thought somewhere in the back of her mind dimly, before Jade stood up and sauntered over to Tori, pulling her forward and onto the bed by the front of her shirt.

x x x

The sudden knocking at the door woke Tori with a start, and she groaned, blinking in the sunlight that was drenching the room. She had no idea what time it was or even what day it was until she caught sight of the dark, messy head of hair next to her and the entire day's events came back to her. She smiled and rolled over, pressing a kiss to Jade's hair and rolling her eyes affectionately when Jade murmured something sleepily and shifted into Tori. It wasn't until the door was knocked on again that she realized why she had woken up.

"Coming!" she called, grabbing the underwear she had been wearing earlier off the floor and pulling it on, and then finding the bathrobe she wore on the back of her closet door and putting that on, too. "Hang on!"

When she finally opened the door a few seconds later she was surprised to find Reese McCarthy there, looking harried. He didn't even bother to ask Tori before he walked into the room, talking a mile a minute. "I just talked to Oliver and he said that when he signed on for this project he was told that we would be filming for six months maximum and now that that six months is almost done he wants to go home immediately because he can't stand being here in Boston another minute away from his family or friends or girlfriend and that he thinks signing on for this so quickly was a bad move and that we need to wrap this up or he's just leaving and then we're screwed and we'll have to either scrap the ending and come up with a new one or reshoot the entire thing with a new actor and that'll mean that you'll have to stay here for another six or seven or whatever months it takes to shoot it so you'll have to have a lot of say in this since we put a lot of effort in already and I'd hate to see it go to waste – Tori, is that your girlfriend?"

Tori winced, trying to cut Reese off every few words so that he would finally stop pacing and she could get him in the hallway so that they wouldn't bother Jade. Somewhere around the middle of never-ending rant, she had started to stir and then she woke up entirely at the end, sitting up and holding the sheet around her chest. "Tori, what the hell is going on?"

"Oh, uh, Jade, this is Mr. McCarthy, the director for the movie. Mr. McCarthy, this is Jade West, my girlfriend. She's a really talented scriptwriter, actually."

Reese smiled at Jade. "Well, if we're ever in the market for a new scriptwriter, I'll keep you in mind. We might need one soon," he muttered. Jade raised her studded eyebrow and looked to Tori for an explanation. She shook her head over Reese's shoulder and waited for him to stand up. "Alright, kid, look, just get back to me about what you think you want to do, okay? It's whatever you want. I mean, your contract is up after a certain date so I can't make you stay, technically, but you know I'd love to keep you. That part has you written all over it." He clapped a hand on Tori's shoulder and let himself out of the room. Tori watched him leave, head whirling.

When she turned back towards the bed, Jade was standing up and in front of her, arms crossed over her chest and her bitch face on. "What just happened, Vega?"


	6. Chapter 6

Tori bit her lip as she gazed at Jade, the fact that her girlfriend was naked not registering until a moment later. "Um, Jade? Do you maybe want to get dressed and then we can talk?" Jade scowled at her, uncrossing her arms, and Tori couldn't help but let her eyes roam around her uncovered body. No matter how many times she saw Jade naked, she'd never quite get over how beautiful she was, how pale and flawfree she really seemed to be.

"Fine, I'm covered," Jade muttered, having pulled on her discarded underwear and bra before sitting on the edge of the bed and fixing Tori with an expectant glare. There was no way Tori was getting out of this and she knew it, so she took her time pacing the room, gathering her thoughts and trying to figure out the best way to break the news to Jade. She didn't even know what she wanted to do yet – although she definitely knew where she was leaning – and it had all been thrown at her so fast, and she just wanted to enjoy what time she had with Jade.

Steepling her fingers together, she turned on her heel to face Jade, who was sitting back on her hands, her legs crossed. Tori very nearly swallowed her words at the dark haired girl's positioning, but powered on. "Reese was just telling me that Oliver is dropping out of production as soon as the six month mark is up. Once Oliver drops out we'll either have to rewrite the ending so that we can fit it around him leaving or we can shoot it quickly before he leaves, or we can scrap the movie altogether and reshoot it with a new lead male."

Jade wasn't stupid, and Tori could see her easily fitting together the pieces in her head. When she spoke, her voice was carefully devoid of emotion. "And if they reshoot the movie they want you to stay on for as long as it takes." As fine as Jade sounded, she was a total emotional wreck on the inside right then. She was supposed to get Tori back in just a couple of months after she had been gone for half a year, and now she might be gone for even longer? She wasn't going to stand in the way of her career, not when this could be her big break, but she hated the fact that they would be spending so much time apart. It made her wonder whether or not they were going to be able to handle the distance another time. It made her wonder if Tori would be able to handle being tied down to a girlfriend back home who had nothing going on for her while she was on her way to becoming a big time movie star.

Jade was not in the habit of feeling sorry for herself. She was Jadelyn Fucking West, and she did not feel sorry for anyone, least of all herself, so she was not going to confuse presenting facts with wallowing around in pity for herself because her girlfriend was going to be gone for another few months. Or so she tried to convince herself as she watched Tori advance towards her and sit beside her, drawing her long legs up underneath her.

"Yeah." Tori's voice was soft, subdued, and she took Jade's hand. It took all of Jade's willpower not to rip her hand away and accuse Tori of leaving her behind, to let her jealousy get the better of her, because the logical side of her brain knew that wasn't what was happening. This was what she had had to fight with when Tori had been offered the job the first time around: she needed to go with what was better for Tori, not what was better for her in the long run. Sure, it might hurt like hell, but she loved Tori, and she wanted Tori to be happy.

"Alright."

"Alright?" Tori looked surprised, like she expected more of a fight.

Jade shrugged. "Alright."

Tori's expression morphed into wary now, and she shifted on the bed, letting go of Jade's hand and cupping her face instead. "Jade, you can tell me if it bothers you, alright? I don't – I don't know what I'm doing yet. I don't know if I want to be gone for another six or seven months. I didn't even like it the first time around," she admitted. "I hated being away from home, away from you guys."

"That's how a lot of movies go, Vega," Jade reminded her, slightly horrified to catch herself leaning into Tori's touch. She really was turning into a ridiculous sap where Tori was involved.

"I know, and I know I'll have to learn to deal with it, but for now? For now I think I might want to go home." Tori's eyes were downcast, and she placed her hand back in her lap. Jade was silent for a long moment, having an inner battle. On the one hand, the idea of having Tori back at home was making her leap for joy, but on the other hand, the idea of Tori giving up such a great career prospect was making her feel incredibly ill at ease. Finally, she sighed.

"Whatever you want to do you know we'll all support you."

Tori gave her a weak smile. "I know."

x x x

"Damn. That's bleak, girl," Andre commented over sandwiches a few hours later.

"I know. I told her we'd support whatever decision she made, but who knows what she'll end up doing in the end." Jade took a sip of her soda and made a face at the carbonation. Tori had to go film a few scenes and so the rest of them were left to wander Boston again. They had decided to grab lunch, and Jade was surprised to see Robbie lean over to whisper something in Cat's ear and to see Cat turn red and giggle in response. She looked over to Beck, raised an eyebrow, and beckoned him over to her with a crook of her finger. He glanced over at Andre and then ducked his head close to Jade's.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on with Robbie and Cat?"

"Oh, right, you were too busy going at it with Tori all night long to know what was going on last night. Alright. Hang on." Beck stood up, pushing his chair back under the table. "Hey, guys, we're gonna go outside for a sec. Jade needs relationship advice." Jade rolled her eyes.

"Do not!"

Beck walked through the door, holding it open for Jade and then an elderly couple, and Jade waited around the corner for him. "Alright, spill it, Oliver."

Beck grinned at her, pushing his hair out of his face. "Okay, so Robbie's had a crush on Cat since forever, and Cat's been seeing Robbie as something more than a friend for maybe a month or so, I'm not sure on that. Anyhow, last night, Andre and I were out with these two girls we met in the park and Robbie and Cat were in the hotel room. I guess one thing led to another and - "

Jade held up a hand right in Beck's face. "If you tell me that Robbie and Cat had sex, I swear to God I will walk in there and cut his dick off and force feed it to him," she threatened. Sure, she treated Cat like a pet most of the time, and Cat was one of the most annoying people on the planet, but Cat was her best friend (if she had one, that is) and she needed someone to take care of her when the time called for it. Jade took it upon herself a long time ago to be that person.

Beck made a disgusted noise. "I hope they didn't. No, according to Rob they just kissed and now they're dating."

"I can deal with that. I'll still cut his junk off if he touches her anywhere else, though." Jade bit her nail, staring off down the street as her thoughts once again turned to Tori. She couldn't help but let her current crisis take precedence in her mind over everything else, even Cat and Robbie getting together. Beck waved a hand in front of her face.

"Man, you really are worried, aren't you? Look, Jade, it'll all work out in the end. I mean, yeah, maybe you'll spend more time apart than you originally thought you would, but you'll get through it."

Jade turned her blue eyes from the pavement up to Beck, a flicker of uncertainty running through them. He and Tori were the only ones allowed to see her like this, ever. "Beck, what if I'm just dragging her down? What if I'm just this anchor tying her down to Hollywood? I mean, she's going to go on and do great things, that much is obvious, but I'm struggling to do anything. I mean, you're getting called back for parts all the time, Andre has his music, Robbie is – well, he's Robbie, and Cat can act, sing, and dance. I mean, I can act, sing, write, whatever, but I don't know if I'm good enough to really break out in any field. Tori, though, she's got it made. I mean, eighteen and already starring as a lead in a Hollywood film? Beck, she doesn't need me holding her back from anything."

Beck stayed silent throughout the entire thing, just processing. "Jade, do you honestly think that?" She nodded, although she wouldn't make eye contact with him this time. "Personally, I think you're wrong. I think she waited long enough to get you as her girlfriend and that she already went six months here and you two are still together, and that she wouldn't dump you because of something as fickle as being famous. It's Tori. I've never met someone as down-to-earth as her. But I guess if you're really that worried this is a conversation you should have with Tori."

"Tori wouldn't understand, Beck. You know that."

Beck regarded Jade with some concern in his eyes. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid like break up with her because you think it's what's best for her, alright?"

"Yeah. Promise." Jade's voice was monotone, and she was biting her nail again.

Beck wasn't reassured at all.

x x x

Tori had been tossing the idea around in her head all day and by the end of filming for the day she deciding to approach Reese. The director was looking over some of the raw footage with his assistant when she walked up to him. "Reese?"

He glanced up at her, smiling. "Tori! Great job today. What can I do for you?"

She took a deep breath. "Reese, I've decided what I want to do. Is there any way that we can do a rush rewrite of the ending? Because I don't think I'll be coming back either, if it's possible."

Reese frowned at her, his full attention on the situation at hand. He hated the idea of both of his lead actors dropping out of his project, but he also hated the idea of ruining the ending of the script he had spent years perfecting. "Tori, are you sure that if we had to reshoot we couldn't persuade you to stay? It's only another six months. Less, in fact, since we wouldn't have to shoot any of your solo scenes, and the actor playing Ian has very few scenes without you since you carry the movie on your back. It'd be three months for you, tops."

Tori had to admit, it sounded great. That was half the time she had been away this time, but it was still time away from home that she didn't know if she wanted. She thought about her family, her friends, Jade. She especially thought about Jade, and about Jade's words that she had given her the first time Tori had been hesitant about taking this job.

"Alright, Reese. If you find another actor, I'll do it."


End file.
